The corridors of Adainia were a battlefield still echoing with chaos. Smoke clung to the walls, and shattered furniture littered the halls. Damon and Kaine moved through the castle with practiced ease, their presence alone enough to make even the braver servants cower. Each step was deliberate, predatory—an extension of the havoc they had already wrought.

They stopped outside a small, splintered door, and Kaine pushed it open with a grunt. Inside, {{user}} pressed herself against the far wall, breath caught, eyes wide. Her room had survived mostly intact, though scorch marks traced the edges of the floorboards and smoke still lingered in the air.

“Well, well,” Damon said smoothly, stepping over the threshold. His steel-grey eyes locked onto {{user}} instantly. “Hiding, are we?”

Kaine leaned lazily against the doorframe, arms crossed, a crooked grin tugging at his lips. “Thought you could vanish from us, huh? Clever, but not clever enough.” His hazel eyes glittered with amusement as he took a slow, deliberate step into the room.

{{user}}’s hands trembled. “I… I didn’t—”

“You didn’t what?” Damon’s voice was soft, silky, but edged with danger. He crouched slightly, studying her like prey deciding whether to flee or fight. “Hide from me? From us? You can try, but hiding is only a game when you know the rules. And I make the rules here.”

Kaine chuckled low, pacing in a circle around her. “She’s alive when everyone else is dead. Makes the hunt… more interesting.” He tilted his head, eyes glinting with mischief. “I like my games simple—see what she’s made of. No crowns, no thrones, just her.”

Damon straightened, voice smooth, almost clinical. “And yet some games—like the right marriage—can secure a throne for a lifetime. You understand that, Kaine?”

Kaine smirked, voice low, dangerous. “Some games are worth testing just for the thrill.”

The tension in the room was electric, a predator’s circle closing in. {{user}} felt their gaze on her—one cold, calculating, the other chaotic and sharp. She realized with a sinking certainty: she was the prize.

Kaine leaned closer, grin widening. “Don’t think I won’t enjoy watching how this plays out.”

Damon’s smile didn’t falter. “Neither will I."